Understanding the Impact TCPA Compliance has on Healthcare Providers

The TCPA was originally designed to curb the numerous unwanted marketing calls that were being dialed into households on a daily basis. People were discouraged and outraged about the growing number of aggressive calls that were dialed into their homes nightly. Many of these calls were done automatically (through a dialer system or "robocalls") which is the reason the act was passed.

Investing (not MONEY) in Patient Experience Can Help Hospital Revenue

The patient experience is a critical factor that sometimes gets ignored in the hospital setting (or maybe not… but it DOES get forgotten). The primary focus of a hospital is to heal the sick and cure the injured. However, hospitals are also businesses interested in not only covering their costs but making a profit as well. As a result, the patient experience has to be kept as a (top) priority.

I’ve been asked the same question time and time again when I'm in the field talking about self-pay collections and bad debt - what question you ask? I'll get there. Collecting invoices from a stubborn or intentionally uncooperative patient for medical services can be enough of a problem, but when the patient seems to have “no money whatsoever” to pay the bill many hospitals and clinics immediately assume the case has to be written off as a loss. That's far from true, but unfortunately it seems like the only logical choice due to a lack of awareness (or wanting to keep the patient from filing a complaint!). In reality, there are a number of ways collections can be made if done in a smart, persistent fashion. There are some accounts that will take a while to get paid, but persistence does often pay off in the end (trust me, I KNOW persistence!) Finally, the question I get asked...

Healthcare

The process of outsourcing a hospital’s accounts receivable or any other medical office for that matter, does not start with handing over accounts and waiting to see what happens next. Instead, accounts receivable management starts with a good amount of planning and understanding what benefits A/R outsourcing will provide a hospital in the first place. When accounts are actually transferred for management, the office will already have a clear plan on what to expect as well as how to redirect resources now freed up from managing accounts directly.

Statistics have it that hospitals actually collect only 30% of patients’ balances with some even collecting less than that.

If you are in charge of your hospital finances you need to know why this is happening and how to fix it.

Hospitals are single-handedly the most difficult to manage institutions in any economy because of their complex organization and the fact health professionals are not expected to be business oriented. Health care professionals in finance and general accounts personnel face various challenges in revenue cycle management and often have to outsource third party medical billing services to cater to their needs. Patient collections after insurance claims have been paid is especially tasking because of the poor strategies geared towards collecting the funds.

What’s one of the best ways to improve your organization’s cash flow? Accelerating and maximizing collection of accounts receivable, of course! In most organizations, increase in the amount of capital to fund investments in technology, people, and training depends on accounts receivable collections.